


Don't I Look Pretty?

by orphan_account



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angst, Crossdressing, Fluff, Guaranteed happy ending, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Other, Transphobia, death mention, sex mention, the tags make it sound worse than it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 01:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5951197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank doesn't know what it is about this guy that makes him wanna chat him up. He's quiet and quite a bit strange actually.<br/>But if he's already out to get a tattoo against the will of his homophobic father, why not also get a boyfriend?<br/>Because who could've known that the weird tattoo guy was hiding such a big secret?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't I Look Pretty?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to kittykitty410 for being my beta. I really don't know what I did without you.

Frank knows it's wrong. It's bad and he definitely shouldn't be looking. He shouldn't be that fascinated by it. It's gross. It's abnormal and against nature. He knows this, but he's still just a curious child.

And he's confused: if it's wrong, why are there people doing it? Publically? Is it like doing drugs? His father explained that to him, too. It's wrong and bad and you shouldn't do it. Most people know, most people who do it know but can't stop. But some seem to like it. And these people are sick, they can't be helped anymore. There's something broken inside their brains. That's drugs. Frank understands, because he's an especially bright five-year-old. But he doesn't understand this. To him, it doesn't look that bad. It's just kissing after all, isn't it? Mommy and daddy do that too. Isn't it normal?  
He's confused and he needs someone to explain it to him.

"Daddy, look," he demands and pulls at his father's sleeve.  
"Not now, Frank. Don't you see I'm talking to someone?" he snaps back.  
"But daddy..." Frank really needs his father to see and explain because he really doesn't get it.  
"What did I say? Not. Now,” He turns around to face the woman he's currently talking to again.

Frank hates business meetings. They're always boring as there are no other kids there and they always take place in huge, snobby restaurants, so he has to wear a scratchy suit (which looks "so adorable" on him according to his mum and grandma).

"But dad..." he whines, still curious about the couple sitting on a desk in the corner, holding hands and kissing over their long-forgotten meals.  
"Frank Anthony Iero, behave yourself!"  
"But dad, look," the kid says and points to the corner.  
"Don't point at..." his father begins to say, but then he sees. He sees what made his son act so strange and he reacts immediately.  
"I'll be right back," he says to Frank before turning to his platinum blonde, equally dressed-up conversation partner. "If you could please excuse me for a moment." Frank watches curiously as his father storms off.

"What are you thinking?! Don't you see there's little children watching? How dare you make out shamelessly in front of them! You _people_ are so, so sick. Sick... And you make little children become like you! Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?" Frank hears his father shout.  
The whole restaurant goes quiet and listens as the accused responds.  
"I'm sorry sir. I'm not aware of doing anything that might have annoyed you. I was merely kissing my boyfriend."  
And he was, Frank thinks. Why is this a problem? Of course he knows that it is, but he needs someone to explain to him why.

"Yes, you were, fag! Aren't you grossed out by yourself?" his father continues shouting.  
Frank can see one of the men starting to cry, silent tears running down his face, and the other whispering something in his ear. They get up and leave the restaurant quickly, leaving behind a crowd of people expressing different opinions. Some are cheering at Frank's dad, some seem angry (Why? Frank wonders. Did his dad do something wrong?), or even sad. A lot of people are suddenly leaving as well, all of them seeming annoyed at the previous incident.

The blonde woman from before staggers over to Frank's dad to wrap her arms around him and chirp, “You're my hero, defending your son like that. You're so brave. Someone needed to say something to them anyways, sitting there all publically. I'm so glad you-“ Frank tunes out after that.  
He really hates business meetings, and his mom seems to do so too. She never joins them, but she's always sad after they come back.

   


***

"Mom!" Frank shouts and runs into his mother's open arms.  
"Where's my little boy?" she purrs as she covers his face in kisses.  
"Mom! Stop it! I'm almost six years old."  
"Yes, but right now, you're five and you'll always be my little Frankie," She interrupts herself to kiss him again. "How was the evening?"  
"Great! We saw a- what was it called... a gay couple at the restaurant, but dad scared them away and he explained it to me why it's bad. I get it now!" Frank beams proudly.  
His mother shoots her husband a disapproving look, but quickly changes to a smile again to face her son.

"And we met a really nice woman. I talked to her and she said she likes me. She is really pretty, too."   
At this, Frank's mom stops smiling. "Frankie, please go into your room, will you? You can go ahead and put on your PJ's, ok? I'm coming up in a minute to read your story."

-

Half an hour later and Frank's sitting on the edge of the bathtub, a cold cloth being pressed against his face. His lips and cheek hurt.  
"He doesn't mean it, you know? He loves you. I'm sure he does. He just doesn't know how to express his feelings."  
Frank knows. He just doesn't want to explain his bruises to his teacher again. He doesn't think she'll believe he fell down again.

   


~12 years later~

It's Frank's 18th birthday today, but he isn't going to go to a bar and get drunk with his friends. He's doing that often enough anyway, always fearing his father could catch him. But that's part of the fun, isn't it? There are only few things his dad despises more than his own son drinking and smoking. One of them is tattoos, and that's what Frank plans on getting tonight. A nice, big tattoo of two birds just above his hips. He chose it ages ago, but today he can get it without his father's permission. He just hopes he'll never discover them.

He doesn't know why he does all this. On the one side he's doing anything possible to piss his dad off, and on the other side he somehow still wants to be the perfect son to him. His brain is seriously fucked up, but, oh well- he already knew that. After all, he's... not normal, to put it that way.

He first discovered it when he was 13 years old. He was at a concert with his best friends and the singer of the band was, well, really fucking hot. Frank thought about him a lot afterwards, maybe a bit too much...  
That was how he found out that's he's not exactly straight. Of course, he'd never tell his father that. And so far he only introduced his _girl_ friends to his parents and, luckily, his dad never seemed to notice his interest in other boys. Frank can't even imagine what would happen if he found out.

   


~~~

There's only one person in the shop besides Frank. Not the tattoo artist (he seems to have disappeared somewhere in the back), but a young man with long black hair, sitting in a corner with a drawing pad. He doesn't look too bad, Frank thinks. As long as he's not hiding behind his hair.

"Hi, are you getting a tattoo?" Frank asks across the room in a very poor attempt to start a conversation. What a stupid question, he thinks. Obviously he is, why else would he be here? The guy looks up, startled and looking at Frank wide-eyed.  
"A-are you talking to me?" he asks, voice shaking as if he's used to people ignoring him.  
"Yeah, you. Do you see anyone else here?" Frank laughs.  
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't-" the ( _really_ _shamelessly good-looking_ ) guy stutters.  
"Don't be. I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry."  
"No, no, it’s okay. Actually, I'm only here to draw."  
"You draw tattoos? That's so cool!" Frank exclaims, a smile forming on his face.

"No it's not, really. I just love drawin' and this here gets me a little extra money." The man blushes at Frank’s (accidental) compliment.  
"But it is cool! I wish I could draw, my skills don't exceed stick men," Frank chuckles a bit, expecting the other guy to laugh along. He doesn’t, though, just muttering a quiet ‘oh’ and looking back at his sketchbook.

There's an awkward silence for a few moments, in which the artist guy just draws. Conversing doesn't seem to be his strength.  
"So, um, what're you getting?"  
"Oh, those birds on the window, you see 'em? I want them about here," Frank points to an area on his lower abdomen, just above the pelvic bone.  
"Oh, okay. That works," He looks down to his pad again, his face making it look like it holds the meaning of life itself.  
"Yeah, I saw them some weeks ago when I walked by and I knew I had to have 'em."  
"Thanks," the weird tattoo guy whispers.

"Oh, did you design them?" Frank smiles excitedly.  
"Y-yes, actually. Do you like them?"  
"Well, duh, obviously. Or I wouldn't get them imprinted on my skin forever, dummy,” Frank chuckles again, his face falling this time when the man replies.  
"S-sorry."  
"Oh no, fuck. I didn't want to- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."  
"It's okay. I'm used to it anyway."  
"Aw, what? Why?"  
"People," tattoo guy just kind of scoffs and shrugs.

Those bastards! How can they go around and insult great, beautiful people like - what even is his name? _Doesn’t matter_ , Frank thinks. _He’s still a person._ Idiots. Frank can feel anger bottling up inside him. He hates injustice.

"Why, though?" Frank frowns at the man.  
"I guess they just don't like me. I'm different, it scares them."  
"Well, those people are stupid. Just don't let them get near you, because _they’re_ wrong, okay? Not you."  
"Thanks. Many people think I'm... you know... weird."  
"Oh, they're definitely right," Frank states, which brings him an angry glare from across the room.

"But I like weird. Weird's good," he continues with a wide grin spreading across his face. The tattoo-guy smiles back as a response, a warm genuine smile, which surprises Frank. He didn't think he'd be able to do that. It's a pleasant surprise, though, because Frank thinks the guy looks even better smiling.

A few minutes go by with neither of them talking, in which Frank just watches the other guy draw. From time to time he'll look up from his pad, but as soon as he notices Frank, he'll blush and look back down quickly.  
"What are you drawing there?" Frank asks.  
"N-nothing," the guy responds and holds the pad close to his chest.

Frank gets up and walks across the room to where the guy is sitting, placing his hands down on the table, leaning on it. "Please, let me see."  
"N-no! It’s not that good."  
"Oh, I'm sure it's awesome. Please let me look. Please?" Frank continues, using the puppy-look he knows no one can resist, batting his eyelids and pushing out his lower lip.

"I... I don't..." the tattoo guy stammers, but it's too late, as Frank already snapped the pad out of his hands to get a closer look. His mouth hangs open as he realises that it's him. It's a rough but beautiful pencil-sketch of his face.  
"I'm sorry," the creator of this masterpiece (as Frank sees it) whispers. "What for? It's beautiful. I love it!" Frank beams, looking up at the man.

"Y-you're n-not freaked out by me? I'm a creep drawing a stranger I met in a tattoo studio!" He stutters out his sentence as a blush creeps over his face.  
"Well, maybe I like creepy too? You thought of that?" Frank grins.  
"You're strange," the tattoo-guy laughs, "but strange is good too, I guess?"  
"Yes. And, just so you know, I'm keeping this."  
"W-what? B-but it's not finished yet! I..." He sighs, seeming to have lost the little amount of courage he gathered again.

"I don't care. I've never had anyone draw me before and this is just perfection," Frank claims proudly, "I'm never giving it back!"  
"But...but, I need to finish it. Just five more minutes?” The man gives Frank a pleading look.  
"Fine, but I want a reward for being kind enough to let you take it from me," Frank states and smirks, a plan already forming in the back of his mind.  
"Oh, okay. Whatever you want."  
"Your phone number," Frank states bluntly.

"W-what? M-my..." Tattoo guy ( _seriously, what's his name?_ ) looks like he can't believe what's happening right now.  
"Your phone number. You're really cute and this might be my only chance."  
"But... but I'm..."  
"What? You're weird? Or creepy? I don't mind that, I really like you."

   


That evening Frank goes home with a wide grin on his face, a new tattoo on his body, and a folded drawing of his face in his pocket with a phone number and a name ( _Gerard!_ ) scribbled in a corner along with a "call me" and a smiley face.

   


~Five months later~

Frank had a fight with his father - again. Why can't the man just leave him alone and let him live his own life? He's always trying to tell Frank what to do and how to do it right, but he doesn't fucking need that. He's going over to Gerard's - he and his brother Mikey are the only people who really understand Frank (apart from his best friend Ray).

He rings the doorbell several times, still pissed off by his father's comments on his life - _stupid idiot_. When Gerard finally opens the door Frank's still fuming, maybe even more so than before.  
Frank sighs when Gerard finally opens the door, quietly saying, “Hey, Gee.”

"What are you doing here?" Gerard exclaims, surprised.  
"What? Aren't I allowed to visit my boyfriend without any special cause?" Frank snaps back.  
Gerard sighs, "Did you have a fight with you father again?"  
"...Yes," Frank admits after hesitating for a while. "Can I come in?"

If this question makes Gerard shift uncomfortably, Frank doesn't notice.  
"You didn't say you were coming over, so the flat's not cleaned up," he tries to maneuver himself out of this situation.  
"What kind of lame excuse is that? It never is anyway."  
"Well..." Gee starts, scratching the back of his head. How, how could he possibly get out of this? How could he stop Frank from getting into his apartment without seeming rude?  
"Do you maybe wanna grab a coffee somewhere and talk about it?" Smooth, Gerard. Absolutely inconspicuous.

"Well, Mikey's gone out, hasn't he? So we'd have the flat all to ourselves..." Frank suggests, while moving closer to Gerard with every word until they're standing chest to chest.  
"We could do whatever we want..." he whispers into his boyfriend's ear.  
Gerard swallows hard, the offer seeming all too tempting.  
"Well, I..." he begins only to be interrupted by a pair of lips on his own, making him stumble backwards against the wall.

Frank's standing much too close to him, leaving Gerard no place to breathe (not that he would have wanted to in this moment. The little bastard has Gerard totally under control, he could never resist him).

"Frank..." Gerard breathes out as hands are beginning to wander up and down his sides.  
"Hm?" comes the response as Frank moves his attention to Gerard's neck.  
"Frankie, I... not now."  
"Why not?" he asks, words muffled by Gee's soft skin.  
Yeah, why not? Surely it couldn't hurt to... No, they had to stop and Frank had to get out of the flat. Now.  
"Because I..." Gerard starts to explain, even though he has no fucking clue what to say - because the truth really isn't an option. But this weight is taken off of him – literally - as Frank interrupts him.

"You have someone else over, don't you?" he asks, backing away from the taller man, a shocked expression on his face. "That's why you want me out of the apartment so badly..."  
You can tell he's close to tears by the way his lower lip is trembling. But who can judge him? He loves Gerard and up until now he thought the feeling was mutual. Not in his wildest dreams he'd have guessed his boyfriend might be cheating on him, but now he guesses he has to face it, and he will.

Brushing some stray tears from his cheeks he walks past a speechless Gerard into the flat. He goes up the stairs to Gerard's bedroom with firm steps, ready to beat up whoever took his boyfriend away from him - or maybe just break down and cry his heart out.  
As he opens the bedroom door the only thing he can see in there isn't some slut desperately trying to cover their naked body, but something - at least in Frank's opinion - worse.

There are dresses and skirts stacked up on the bed and thrown on the floor, high-heels in different heights and colours are lying around and some make-up utensils stand on the small bedside table.  
So it isn't just a quick fuck like Frank thought (hoped) before. She comes here regularly. Hell, it looks like she almost lives here. And Gerard always told Frank he couldn't come over that much because it would bug Mikey or because he didn't clean up. Dirty old liar.

On top of that Gerard told Frank he was gay, not bi, so "you don't ever have to worry about pretty girls looking at me. Or guys, for that matter, because _I love only you_."

It was a lie all along and Frank should have realised long before. Did he really think anyone could love him without any hidden agenda? He lets the tears fall free from his eyes, running across his cheeks like a waterfall washing away his illusion of a - more or less - perfect life. He can hear Gerard coming up the stairs behind him, carefully and slow, and he turns around to scream it all out.  
"I trusted you! Hell, I fucking loved you, and you... you just... you fucking cheated on me! Repeatedly! Am I not good enough for you? Couldn't you have just told me and let me down gently instead of letting me find out this way?"  
His voice gets quieter with every word and his mind stops racing. It's all so clear now. Gerard never really loved him.

"W-what are you talking about?" the accused asks - almost whispers - with tears running down his face. He doesn't even try to hide them or brush them away. "I would never..."  
"Oh, you wouldn't? You wouldn't?! Then what's this, huh?" Frank screams and points to the clothes on Gee's bed.  
"I... they're..." Gerard stutters when something clicks in the back of his head. He starts to laugh suddenly.

_Why is the fucker laughing?_ Frank thinks furiously. _Isn't it enough already? Does he have to humiliate me even more?_  
"It's not like you think, babe. I'd never cheat on you. I love you, Frankie," Gee says and moves closer. The guy has nerves.  
"Then explain," Frank demands and crosses his arms in front of his chest, waiting for an answer. Gerard suddenly blushes furiously, and looks down to his feet.

"Go on, then. Explain to me how ‘it’s not what I think’!” Frank makes air quotes around the five words he’s just heard Gerard say, baffled as to what it could possibly be.  
When Gerard doesn’t answer, Frank stomps his foot loudly, causing Gee to jerk away in astonishment. “What is it?!”

Gerard shakes his head and looks up to meet Frank's gaze.  
"You'd hate me, despise me. I don't want you to," he whispers.  
"Well, I already pretty much hate you. I don't think you could make it any worse."  
Gerard just looks down to his feet again, on the floor, over Frank's shoulder out of the window, on the ceiling - anywhere but the clothes that reveal his long kept secret.

"I..." he begins and almost chokes on the words. "They're mine," he whispers, almost inaudibly.  
"What did you say?"  
"They're mine," Gerard repeats, louder this time, "I wear them, the dresses and heels, because sometimes I feel more like a girl than a boy."  
He looks to the floor again.  
"I didn't want you to find out, because I thought you'd leave me. That's... that's why I always panicked when you wanted to come over. I-" Gerard sobs.

Suddenly, he feels two strong arms being wrapped around him. Frank leans his head into Gerard's neck and sighs.  
"Oh, Gee. I was so worried! Why didn't you just tell me? I'd never love you any less because of a silly little thing like that."  
"W-what? You... you don't... don't think..."  
"No, I don't," Frank chuckles. "I'm just a bit hurt that you didn't tell me before. Did you seriously think I'd leave you because of that?"

Gerard blushes and nods, only now realising how silly he was.  
"Aw, baby. You worry too much. I'll always love you,” Frank smiles, “Even if you cheated on me. I’d love you, but I would be so hurt.” He laughs softly. “I don’t think I could hate you."

   


~~~

Gerard looks really damn good in a dress, Frank has to admit. Well, Gerard could wear a garbage bag and still look fucking gorgeous for all Frank cares, but he'd never have thought seeing him dressed up and with make-up on would turn him on that much.

After talking with him for a solid thirty minutes, Frank could finally convince his boyfriend to put on and show him all the outfits he owns. He already has some favourites. Like the dark blue, knee-length dress with long sleeves and the satin pumps in the same colour, or the black, short pleated skirt with the light yellow jumper and black ankle boots, or the cute, light-green minidress, or...

   


"Hey, Gee?" Frank asks as they lie on the bed together, Frank's jeans and shirt discarded on the floor next to Gerard's red dress and panties.  
"Hmm?" he responds, nuzzling his face into the crook of Frank's neck and placing a small kiss there.  
"Why don't you ever go out like this?"  
"Like what?"  
"You know, wearing a dress..."

Gerard sits up suddenly and stares at Frank wide-eyed. "I'd get stared at, laughed at... shouted at," he whispers, "I'm different. People don't like that."  
"I like you", Frank grins and pulls Gerard down for a quick kiss. "And I, for one, don't give a flying fuck about other people's opinion. Other than that, it would be a shame to have all these nice outfits and never wear them out. That said, are you still in for coffee?"

Gerard's dumbstruck for a second or two before he smiles, "Sure. Now get outta here and let me get ready."

   


Gee’s taking a lot more time than usual to get dressed, Frank thinks at the exact moment his boyfriend emerges from his bedroom. He wouldn't have thought that Gerard would actually do it, but...  
He's wearing the black pleated skirt, the yellow jumper and the black boots. Frank notices that he put on a thin line of black eyeliner and mascara along with some pink lipstick. His long black hair is combed and stuck behind his ears.

He stands before Frank, scratching the back of his head and looking down to the floor. Frank takes his chin and turns it up.  
"You look beautiful," he reassures his boyfriend and gives him a peck on the lips. "Let's go."

   


~~~

No one stares or laughs at Gerard as they walk through town, and certainly no one shouts at him. One guy even wolf-whistles after him.  
"Hey baby. Why don't ya come here so we can have some fun?" some drunk guy shouts out of an alleyway.

"They think I'm a girl," Gerard flips the man off but laughs, sounding somewhat excited and pleased with himself at the same time.  
"And a pretty one", Frank responds, kissing his nose.  
Gerard giggles and swats his arm. "Aw, stop it," he makes his voice higher to sound feminine and they both erupt into laughter.

After a while Frank stops to look at his gorgeous boyfriend. "You are really pretty, you know?"  
Gerard blushes at that and tries to hide his face behind his hair, doing the opposite of when the two first met.  
"No, you're not doing that, mister. I happen to like looking at your face," Frank protests.  
"You sound like a creep," Gee laughs, but shows his face and tucks his hair behind his ears again. "But I like you, even though you're a weirdo."

"Hey! Weird's good, okay?” Frank says in a mock hurt tone.  
They continue laughing even after their sides begin to hurt and their eyes get watery.

   


~~~

"You know, if I didn't know better I'd also think you're a girl," Frank comments on Gerard's appearance after the barista in Starbucks gives him his coffee for free (and with a wink). "You'd only have to make your voice a little higher and you'd fool anyone."  
"Your point is...?" Gerard asks, sipping on his espresso.

"I had a fight with my dad today, remember?" Frank asked, scratching the back of his neck, "Well, he also commented on me never bringing home girls and not going out with anyone for over half a year. He thinks something's wrong with me, that I'm not a normal teenager and that I'm hiding something from him. So I was thinking, maybe you should meet my parents."

Gerard almost chokes on his coffee.  
"Wait, what? You want me to meet your dad? Your really, extremely homophobic dad? Are you going crazy, Frank?"  
"No, no. You would dress up and put on makeup, and if you alter your voice they'll think you're a girl. It's not crazy, it's brilliant!" Frank beams at Gerard.  
"Are you okay, Frankie? They'll totally notice!"  
"No one did so far, and you didn't even put any effort in it."  
"But they only saw me for a short time and not even close up..."  
"Ah, shut up. It'll work out just fine!"  
"If you say so, darling," Gerard says in a mock girly voice and bats his eyelids to make Frank laugh (which totally does not work).

   


~~~

Even though they've been together for over six months now, Frank didn't tell anyone about his relationship with Gerard so far. No one knows he's bi, not even his best friends. He knows that they're very tolerant, but he was never sure how they'd react if one of their close friends came out.

But now, he decided, fuck it. They had to test if Gerard's "disguise" would work with his parents and if it didn't with Bob and Ray it wouldn't matter that much. Besides, his best friends had to meet his boyf- no, _girl_ friend- sooner or later.

   


~~~

Gerard and Frank are standing in front of Bob's house, knowing there's no backing out now.  
Gerard's wearing the light-green minidress and his favourite black pumps. He curled his hair and put on eyeliner and mascara, and he's even wearing a little silver bracelet.  
"You ready?" Frank asks. When Gerard nods, he rings the doorbell. Bob opens with Ray looking over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of Frank's girlfriend.

Soon after they're all sitting in the living room drinking beer, save for Gerard who settled on coke.  
"So, how long have you been together?" Ray wants to know.  
Gerard shoots Frank a panicky look, but luckily he decided before not to have any secrets from the guys (apart from the obvious one, of course).

"A bit over six months actually," he says and takes a sip from his beer.  
"What? So long already? And you never got the idea to introduce us?" Ray asks disbelievingly. "Well, we're here now, aren't we?"  
"He probably wanted to keep his pretty girlfriend all to himself. Not a bad idea actually, if you know Ray," Bob grins which gets him a punch in the arm.  
"Hey! I'd never hit on Frank's girlfriend," Ray defends himself, "Although you are very pretty."

Gerard blushes at this, not at all used to getting compliments.  
"You don't talk much, do you?" Bob asks and Gerard shakes his head. Yes, he is very shy, but he's also concerned they'd hear he's a guy, even though he practiced talking higher with Frank and Mikey. He's just nervous in this situation.  
"That's fine. It's nice, actually. Frank's last girlfriend would never shut up. She'd talk for ages without end," Bob remembers, "God, she was annoying."

"Oh really? You never told me about her," Gerard fakes jealousy in his voice. "Was she pretty?"  
"Not as pretty as you are," Frank responds and gives him a peck on the lips.  
"You guys are strange. But, I think you belong together," Ray decides. "So, how'd you meet?" he asks.  
"You tell 'em, babe," Frank whispers.

"Well, I draw tattoos for the studio in Ellis Road and, last October, Frank came in to get one and I was sitting in there drawing and Frank chatted me up."  
"Oh, that's pretty cool. Did you design his tattoos, too?"  
"Yes, actually. Most of them."  
"That's so cute, I wanna throw up," Bob comments from his place on the other side of the side.

"Shut up Bob," Ray snaps. "Can I see them again?" he asks Frank.  
"Sure," he answers, rolling up his t-shirt to show his stomach tattoos first. After the birds, he also got the words ‘Search And Destroy’ and two guns added to the sides, forming a band around the stretch of skin.  
He also rolls up his sleeves to show off the few tattoos he got on his arms. He now always has to wear long sleeves at home, but he decided that it was totally worth it.

"Did you already meet his parents?" Ray asks.  
"N-no, not yet. But soon, I guess," Gerard answers.  
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll completely adore you," Ray reassures him.  
"They will," Frank agrees and kisses Gerard's forehead. "Don't worry," he whispers into his ear.

"And did you meet her parents?" Ray continues his interrogation.  
"No, only hi- her brother. But I guess I should also meet your parents, huh?" Frank asks Gerard, desperately hoping no one notices he almost fucked up.  
"Yeah, they actually invited me and Mikey for dinner next week. You could come along."

"Oh, so you don't live with your parents anymore?" Ray asks.  
"N-no, I moved out a year ago, but I live with my brother, Mikey."  
"Oh, alright. How old are you, if I may ask?"  
"Twenty-one."  
"I didn't know you liked older women," Ray mocks Frank. "She's also taller than you."  
"Well, that's not that strange. Frank's really tiny," Gerard laughs.  
"Shut up," his boyfriend responds and softly punches him on the arm.  
"She's right, you know," Bob comments again.  
"Oh, fuck you," Frank huffs and crosses his arms in front of his chest.

   


~~~

The evening goes on pretty well and not once do Ray or Bob notice something odd about Frank's "girlfriend". They decided to tell them even if they didn’t notice, both of them agreeing that it would be mildly rude not to.

So now, Gerard's in the bathroom getting changed and Frank's left a nervous wreck sitting on the couch.  
"What's the matter?" Ray asks. "Is it about Gina? We really like her. Right, Bob?"  
"What? Um... yeah, of course. She's really nice."  
"I... I know, guys," Frank breathes out.  
"See? Then why are you so nervous?" Ray wants to know.  
"Is everything okay?" Bob asks, "And what's taking Gina so long?"  
"A-actually we didn't tell you something. I... um, well, I'll go look for Gee."

"That's a nice nickname," Frank hears Ray say to Bob as he leaves the room.  
He comes back a minute later with Gerard, who's now taken off the make-up and the dress and changed into black skinny jeans, his American Idiot t-shirt and Converse.  
"What the..." Ray exclaims.  
"Fuck," Bob whispers.  
"Surprise," Frank says unconvincingly and Gerard does jazz hands behind him.

After a minute or so, Ray breaks the silence.  
"Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck?"  
"So she's a he," Bob concludes, sipping on his almost empty beer bottle.  
"What the fuck?" Ray repeats, pointing at Gerard.

"So this is Gerard, my boyfriend," Frank vaguely explains.  
"Hi," Gerard says and waves.  
"What the fuck? Why?" Ray asks, still pretty shocked.  
"So everything we told you was true, except for the fact that Gerard's, well, a guy. We met in the tattoo studio half a year ago, but I didn't tell you because you didn't know I'm bi and I was afraid how you'd react. Then, a few weeks ago, I found out Gee's genderfluid and actually has a lot of dresses and stuff and we, or rather, I, decided he could meet my parents now, you know, as a girl, but we had to test if it would work - if they'd believe that Gee's a girl - so we agreed that he'd meet you first, because he had to anyway, sooner or later, because you're my best friends, and we could try if our, my, great plan would work out, and it did," Frank explains in a rush, taking in a deep breath afterwards.

Bob stands up and walks out of the room.  
"Where are you going, man?" Frank asks, surprised and a bit out of breath.  
"I'm getting another beer, you want one?"

   


~~~

After this first – admittedly a bit awkward - encounter, Gerard, Bob and Ray quickly proceed to become really good friends. The three of them (and Frank, of course) hang out often and go to clubs and concerts together.

And no one has a problem with the fact that sometimes Gerard doesn't come along, but Gina joins them instead. Frank's really glad his best friends accept his boyfriend like he is, but he's still so nervous about him meeting his parents.

   


~~~

It's Sunday, two weeks after Gerard met Ray and Bob, and he's invited for lunch with the Ieros. It takes him at least twice as long as usual to get ready, but when Frank gets there to pick him up, he forgets all of his previous concerns.  
"Wow, you look great," Frank decides and gives his boyfriend a quick kiss. “Like always.”

Gerard's wearing a light blue knee-length dress and he curled his hair again. He’s only wearing mascara and some shiny lipgloss. His outfit is topped off with a silver necklace, a gift from his grandma.  
She found out about his secret first (even before Mikey) and she always was very supportive of her grandson. She was actually pleased to have someone to give all her jewellery to.

Frank's mum opens the door enthusiastically, excited to meet her son's new girlfriend.  
"Oh, so you must be Gina! You look stunning, darling!" she exclaims, drawing Gerard in for a hug.  
When she finally lets go of him, she's still talking.  
"I'm so glad to finally meet you, Frank was so secretive about you. You've got to tell me everything!"  
"Mom!" Frank pleads, "Let her at least breathe."  
"Yes, sure, I'm sorry. I'm just so excited!"  
"It's fine. I'm excited too," Gerard states.

Mrs Iero smiles happily at that and leads the two boys in to the dining room. The table's already set and Mr Iero is sitting by it with today's newspaper in his hands.  
"Darling, they're here," his wife chirps.  
"I heard that," he mumbles under his breath, but he still stands up to shake Gerard's hand.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Iero," the boy says with a fake smile plastered onto his face.

   


~~~

Mrs "You can call me Linda" Iero made her - at least according to Frank - infamous vegetable lasagna. Gerard has to admit it really tastes excellent and he doesn't hesitate to tell her so.  
"Thank you darling, but it really isn't that hard to make, you know? Everyone could do it easily," she claims.  
"I'm sure I couldn't. I'm a terrible cook," Gerard states, which makes Mrs "Honestly, please call me Linda" Iero offer him to show him how to make lasagna sometime - or anything else for that matter.

"A young lady has to know how to cook. As well as a young gentleman," she says with a side glance to Frank, "You'll need it when you live alone someday."  
"I actually live with my brother, but his cooking skills aren't to be trusted either. He once almost burned the house down when trying to make breakfast. I haven't let him near a toaster since then," Gerard chuckles.

"That means you don't live with your parents anymore?" Mr Iero, who was strangely quiet until now, asks.  
"N-no, sir. I moved out a year ago," Gerard stutters, seeing his boyfriend's father watching him strictly.  
"Does this mean you're older than Frank?"  
"Y-yes, sir. I'm twenty-one."  
Mr Iero only nods at this and leaves conversation to his wife again, who happily obliges.  
"Frank never told me how you two met..."

   


~~~

It all went pretty smooth until dessert, when Mr. Iero decided it would be great to actively take part in the conversation.  
"Did you know Marcus from two streets down is a fag? You know, the boy you used to help with homework in middle school. I always told you he's no good," he states out of the blue, making Gerard's jaw drop, Frank's fists clench and Mrs Iero sigh.

Surprisingly, that is finally the moment Frank has enough, after so many years.  
"What did you call Marc?" he asks, voice laced with obvious anger.  
"A faggot, because he is one. He was caught making out with James Harver behind the supermarket. But, hey, we all already knew that Jim has a few screws loose," Frank Senior responds, oblivious to his son's rage.  
"What do you mean screws loose?! Just because he's into boys doesn't mean he's crazy!" Frank shouts and stands up, now a head taller than his father.

Gerard tries to calm his boyfriend down again, taking his hand and whispering into his ear, but it doesn't help. Frank is too far gone by now.  
"Well guess what dad, I'm into guys too! I'm bi, deal with it!" he spits without any fear of his father's reaction for once.  
As imagined, Mr Iero is shocked beyond belief whereas his wife just smiles and nods knowingly.

"You already knew, didn't you?" Gerard asks with a small smile himself.  
"I always did. I even knew before Frank. Mother’s intuition," she answers, "But did you know, Gina?"  
He knows it's highly inappropriate, but at that Gerard just has to laugh.  
"What's funny about that?!" Mr Iero screams, "My son is a fucking faggot and no one but me seems to care!"

And before Frank can say anything to worsen the situation even more, Linda Iero chimes in.  
"There's nothing wrong with our son liking boys, it's completely normal, Frank," she tells her husband.  
"Yeah, and if you have a problem with that, it's none of our business," Gerard suddenly says.

All the other present people stop for a second to look at him; no one would have expected shy Gee to actually talk back to Mr. Iero.  
"You are really lucky to have such a supportive girlfriend, honey," Frank's mum chirps. "I'm so happy for you."

Gerard blushes a bit and Frank scratches the back of his head and stutters, "W-well, about that..."  
"You aren't really together, are you?" Mr Iero growls, "She’s just here to distract me from the fact my son's a fucking faggot. I should've known, you'd never bring home a girl as mannered as her. Or any girl, for that matter."  
"I am not gay, dad, I'm bi," Frank sighs, ignoring his father's use of words.

Frank decides to let it go, but then there’s Gerard, who steps forward and slaps him right in the face. "Don't ever use that word again!" he shouts, on the verge of tears, "Don't you dare!"  
Frank inwardly cheers at that, congratulating himself to such an awesome boyfriend, whereas Mrs Iero looks at her husband with wide eyes, because he's about to hit Gee back. She steps in and grabs his hand, forcing it down, and says firmly, "It's enough, Frank. And Gina, don't hit my husband. I know it's because he insulted Frank, but this behaviour is unacceptable, young lady."

"My name's not Gina," Gerard whispers in his normal voice, "And I'm not a young lady either."  
This statement brings about puzzled expressions from both Mr and Mrs Iero.  
"My name is Gerard and I'm Frank's boyfriend," he states, a bit afraid, but mostly proud.

Linda and her husband stare at him incredulously and Frank chimes in, "We thought it'd be better if Dad met him as Gina, you know, because of..."  
Mr Iero regains his speech again and uses it to throw his son and his boyfriend ( _a fag and a trannie!_ ) out of his house.

   


~~~

It couldn't have been better for Frank; he moved in with Gerard and Mikey, got loads of new tattoos and piercings, his mum filed for divorce, and his dad wasn't allowed in a 40-feet radius to him.

Linda visited more often than Frank would've liked, even after years, and she broke out in tears when Gee showed her his engagement ring. At the wedding she and Donna Way used up at least half a ton of handkerchiefs. Frank's dad wasn't invited, though he got the wedding pictures sent per mail along with a note from the couple, thanking him for his support.

They only talked again ten years after that, at Linda's funeral, Frank senior meeting his grandchildren and Linda's little angels for the first time. They made their peace over her grave and only half a year later he joined his wife.

Unlike his parents Frank lived up to an old age, dying in his sleep at the age of 90. Three days later Gerard followed, seemingly dying of a broken heart. Only a day later they were buried and lie there to this day, together even in death - Frank in his best suit and Gerard in his favourite summer dress.

   



End file.
